From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games
2000; Bowling Green State University; Volume: 23; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1540-594X
Autores Tópico(s)Digital Games and Media
ResumoBook Reviews From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games. Justine Cassell and Henry Jenkins, eds. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1998. 360 pp., 57 illustrations, 26 color. Cloth: $35.00. Boys and girls are different; of this, there is no question. But how does the biological and social construct of gender relate to computer games and, more importantly, to our computer-driven culture? In From Barbie to Moral Kombat: Gender and Computer Games, editors Justine Cassell and Henry Jenkins address this question. The book grew out of a one-day symposium on gender and computer games sponsored by Women's Studies at MIT that was organized to bring together both game industry representatives and academics for the purpose of discussing computer games for girls. However, the discussion went much further, providing a thought-provoking analysis of the limitations and opportunities females face as they are socialized in a world that is both male-dominated and computer-based. As Cassell and Jenkins point out in their introduction to the book, males have tended to control the computer games industry, create games for themselves, and market exclusively to boys. In the words of one games executive. have more left handed players than I have female players and I don't make games for left-handed people. Why should I make them for [girls]? (5). This attitude presents a multiplicity of problems. First, boys have been attracted to computer games more than girls have and thus use them to hone their computer skills. In a world where computer literacy is a requirement in education and for high-status employment, girls could be at a disadvantage. Second, the content of the games frequently undermines girls (a key reason why girls are not drawn to them). Popular games, frequently depicting violent action, often exclude or objectify girls, showing them, if at all, as damsels in distress or passive bystanders. These images could erode girls' confidence and sense of empowerment and contribute to a misogynistic attitude among boys. Third, the games industry is resistant to change. Major retailers, such as Toys 'R' Us or Kaybee, will take a game off the shelves in a few weeks if it fails to show an immediate profit, thus giving new products that might be more appealing to girls a chance to catch on. To be sure, not all girls feel marginalized by the computer games industry. Henry Jenkins relates a conversation he overheard in which a schoolgirl expressed her enthusiasm for Tomb Raider, and other writers speak of the puzzle or exploration games, such as Tetris, Myst, and Donkey Kong Country, which are attractive to girls as well as boys. Nevertheless, as of the 1990s, eighty percent of computer game playing among children aged nine to fifteen was done by boys, who also comprised ninety percent of the readership for games magazines. Further, most of the games readily available failed to address the preferences of the female half of the population. The contributors to From Barbie to Mortal Kombat offer divergent solutions to these problems. …
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